


...even with our differences

by yunliu



Series: You make me feel special [2]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Christmas Fluff, Cute Ending, F/F, Financial Issues, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 23:30:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20804780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yunliu/pseuds/yunliu
Summary: On Christmas day, Momo's wish comes in the form of a little doll named Chou Tzuyu.





	...even with our differences

**Author's Note:**

> I stayed up the write this again what am I doin??

Nobody likes to be alone. Not even Momo, no matter what her coworkers might tell you. She wasn't planning on spending Christmas Eve on her own, but here she was. On her own, in a foreign country, worlds and years apart from the her in at home. 

Momo didn't celebrate Christmas, but it was always a good excuse to fly back to Japan and visit family. But her parents weren't in town and her sister was too busy with her first child. Falling on hard times after all these circumstances was like rubbing salt in her wounds. She celebrated her birthday with the friendly auntie who worked at the thrift store. 

Momo had clasped her hands together before blowing out the lone candle on a her birthday slice. "I wish not to be alone on Christmas," she whispered, too low for any ear to pick up. 

One of her lone comforts was the dollhouse that her estranged grandfather had gifted her, back when she was fifteen years old. In pursuit of him, she had flown to South Korea, his home country. He had remembered what she had asked as a child, after so many years. A dollhouse, and a beautifully big one at that. By then, she had stopped playing with dolls, but she treasured the toy.

Her difficult financial situation had made her consider selling the dollhouse. It would sell for a small fortune and take care of the bills for two months or so. So, on Christmas Eve, she cycled down to the thrift store among the piles of snow.

Opening the door, it opened up with a friendly jingle. At this early hour no one was in the store yet. 

Momo greeted the friendly woman by the counter, then made her way over to one corner of the store where there was a new bunch of boxes from recent donations. She bent over to take a closer look. 

There was a little silvery crown, decorated with colourful faux flowers. It's circumference around the size of a ten cent coin coin. Every end of the crown was long and pointed, reminding Momo of the crown of the Starbucks logo. She gingerly picked it up with a finger and set it aside. 

Further inside, she pulled out a palm-sized doll. It was meticulously handcrafted; it wore a long, sleeveless ballgown dress with flowery patterns that looked like they belonged on curtains. It had a pair of puffy red sleeves that were a completely new material altogether, but they were sewn onto the dress too. She ran her fingers along the nearly unnoticeable stitching, admiring the effort placed into it. The pretty face painted onto the doll looked like it was trying to imitate the looks of a top model on a magazine. 

With her other hand, Momo placed the little crown onto the doll's head of blonde hair. It was a perfect fit. "Auntie," she called. The other woman scurried over, taking a moment to look at the toy she was holding. "Where did this doll come from?" 

"Oh, this? It must have come from the wealthy couple downtown. They donated all their toys here after their children moved out." Lines near her eyes reappeared when she smiled at Momo. "If you want to, you can keep it as thanks for helping me on the weekends." 

Normally Momo would have declined, but image of the toy in the dollhouse had already taken root in her head. Wouldn't she be a good addition, she thought. So she took it home without protest, thoughts about selling the dollhouse long forgotten. She placed the doll in her bicycle's front basket and cycled home. 

Momo went into her makeshift attic to take out the dollhouse into the living room (not without walking face first into a spider web). Before that, she wiped the it free of dust, which took quite while. Then she left the doll inside, bending it to sit onto the miniature couch. Surprisingly, the doll's knees could bend too, so it's legs didn't stick out awkwardly. 

At least one of them found a new home. Momo went on with her day, even attending local church for fun when her neighbour Eunbi invited her for service. 

The next morning, Momo prepared a cup of tea for herself as usual, feeling a little adventurous. She took out a slice of chocolate fudge cake she had bought a few days before and decided to it for breakfast. She strode into the living room, opening the curtains. 

Cue small, incoherent muttering. "How do I get out of this?" Eyes wide, Momo turned around. Was she hearing something? "Stupid dress." She cautiously walked to the dollhouse, bending down. 

This little doll, moving and talking and being...alive. Her dress was stuck in the corner of the staircase, and she was trying to pull it out. 

"Do you need help?" Momo asked, trying not to let her mouth open too wide. The doll looked up, then to the floor and gave a quick nod. 

Afterwards, the doll placed a little hand to her torso. Her face scrunched up. "I don't know why, but here hurts." Momo gawked. Maybe she's hungry? She took a little crumb of the cake from her plate to give it to her to eat.

Astonishingly enough, she finished it quickly. "What's your name? Do you even have one?" Momo asked, perching on the edge of the floor. 

"My name...?" The doll pondered. "Chou Tzuyu." She answered after a beat. 

Somehow, her wish was fulfilled, even if it was in a way she didn't expect, Momo was appreciative of her new company. Tzuyu wasn't talkative, but she was a good listener. 

She sat the tiny doll on her knee like a child. That's how they talked to each other. She hadn't talked this much without stopping in a long time. 

After Momo finished, Tzuyu put her hand out, patting the other's leg. "I'm unable to relate to you, but thank you for trusting me with your problems." Oh, she isn't normally this emotional. Momo felt a tear well up to the surface. 

She dried the wetness in her eyes with her sweater sleeve. "I mean, you're the only company I have." 

"No, really. Thank you." The seriousness written all over Tzuyu's face is way too deadpan for a such a tiny doll. Momo felt like laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of her situation. Tzuyu, too, drew her lips together to unsuccessfully stifle a giggle. For once, she didn't feel that empty feeling in her heart. 

Momo tried to make dinner (keyword: tried)  
to make dinner for the two. She minced up grains of rice for Tzuyu and cooked an egg for the two of them for their dinner. 

She sat by the dollhouse. "Momo," Tzuyu said, through a mouthful of rice. "Do you have other clothes for me to change into? This..." She beckoned to her outfit. "Is a little difficult to get around in." 

Momo shook her head. "Nevermind, then you should dress as fancy as me, then we'll both be uncomfortable." The other looked up at her with a cheeky grin. 

"Oh, fine." Tzuyu sat herself onto the couch, patiently waiting as Momo ventured into her room. She put on an outfit she found in the back of her closet. It was a dress with a little slit in the middle to show a silver of flesh, made of black lace, so tight it became a second skin. She hadn't worn it for a long, long time, having gotten it for free back in Japan when she had modelled for a magazine once. 

Staring at the mirror had an emaciated Momo looking back at her. Her complexion was drab and jaundiced. Her eyes were puffy. There was a splatter of pimples on her cheeks. She hadn't bothered to take care for her appearance for a long time. 

Momo took out her curler. It was covered in a thin layer of dust. She added soft waves to her hair, and tied her hair into a half up half down hairstyle. 

It was only when she went out that she began smiling at her reflection. Tzuyu got up, clapping her hands together. "You look great," she declared in her tiny voice of hers. "I wish could wear your clothes too." 

The two had really had some business wishing all over the place, because Tzuyu's wish did come true. Blink. Small, doll, cute. Blink. Tall, human, intimidatingly beautiful. 

Suddenly, Tzuyu wasn't a doll anymore. Momo blinked owlishly at the sight. Apparently, being surprised once today wasn't enough. The small details on Tzuyu's face, out of the blue, became now super sized. She would probably be the kind of girl who Momo found really attractive in school, but she'd also swerve to avoid her in the hallways. 

With her big, big eyes (her other features in comparison were proportionate, so why were they so oddly huge for?), she looked Momo straight in the eye. What. Momo could feel her knees turn to jelly. Why was she so tall? 

Calmly, Tzuyu stuck out her pinky and ran it over one of her kohl lined eyes. When she examined it, there was smudged eyeliner on her finger. "I think I'm a human now."

It was surreal. A girl, wearing _her_ clothes, and freshly smelling like _her_ Dove body wash was sitting on her couch this very instant. Momo pinched herself. She winced.

"Why are you just standing there?" Tzuyu appeared a lot more unassuming with all the harsh makeup off, dressed in clothes one would wear at home. Cheeks flushing, the other dipped her head to the floor. How embarrassing. She took a seat next to her. 

Momo sipped from her cup of hot chocolate, looking at everything except the girl next to her. "When you're wearing this, you look just like me. Normal."

Tzuyu shrugged. "Looks like we aren't as different as we thought." She scooted over and laid her head on Momo's shoulder. Snow fell outside the window. The night was sparkling, stars twinkling faintly in the sky. 

"You made me feel less lonely today." Momo said softly. "I really appreciated it."

"Hey, you know," Tzuyu reached out a hand to interwine hers with the shorter's. Silently Momo heaved a sigh of relief that she couldn't see her face right now. It would probably be red. "I wished that I would have company. And I got it." She let out a faint chuckle. "I don't know what happened to me before, but I'm glad you're here." 

Whoever blessed her with this doll -- Momo thought, thoughts subdued through a nebulous haze of sleep -- she ought to thank them. Maybe guardian angels do exist, or maybe one is laying on her shoulder, at this very moment. Carefully, she reached out a hand to run it through Tzuyu's hair and smiled to herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Comments are always appreciated. Stay tuned for more stories based off Feel Special! The next one is about Nayeon and Jihyo hehe :)
> 
> twt: @okaeythen


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